


So he's gone...

by chaoticthewilds



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticthewilds/pseuds/chaoticthewilds
Summary: Little by little, Dot was forgetting her situation back at home. Being so far away from everything that reminded her of it, she could create her own reality. A reality in which she could live in denial.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	So he's gone...

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Differences](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29762478) by [thewildsrights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewildsrights/pseuds/thewildsrights). 



While on the island, Dot was always so busy trying to keep the other girls safe that her thoughts could never travel. At night, she couldn’t even take any time for herself, being too exhausted.

Little by little, Dot was forgetting her situation back at home. Being so far away from everything that reminded her of it, she could create her own reality. A reality in which she could live in denial. 

Her dad was her parent, but mostly her best friend. He taught her how to be strong, shared his music taste with her, showed her what it was like to live. That was until he got sick. At first, young Dot did not want to face the truth, she wanted to keep living life normally but quickly that became impossible. All she could do was take care of him, and wish him all the best.

She was constantly surrounded by reminders that her dad would not make it, that he’d be taken too soon. Everything happened so suddenly that Dot could not process it. Her world was thrown upside down. Now she was the one taking care of her parent instead of the other way around. Dot lived in constant fear that her father would give up, knowing he eventually would.

Dot’s father was a very active man, who loved his freedom and kept going on very spontaneous adventures, and now he was here… stuck in a bed at home, unable to go to the bathroom by himself. The only adventures he could go on were imaginary, and he’d always share them with Dot. 

Of course this could not keep happening forever, but when he was ready to go, Dot was far from ready to let him. Of course, he did not want to leave without making sure Dot would be safe and well cared for, because he was still a father, but Dot didn’t want anyone to take care of her. Not if that meant losing him. 

The teen would’ve loved growing up normally and being able to go out whenever with her friends, and her dad’s illness made that impossible, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Dot would gladly give everything up to spend a few more moments with her father, but he wanted to go, he wanted his daughter to finally live for herself. 

So he went.

On the island, none of this was true. Dot didn’t have the time to think of all of this. Sometimes, while taking care of the girls, she was carried back to the times she took care of her father, but there was always something to do. Dot would always shake the thought and go on with her day.

Falling asleep quickly from the exhaustion, she would only get a few seconds of peace, and she would always see her father’s face, hear his voice, relive one of their memories. Those snippets of her life were always of the good parts, before the illness. She lived in this reality, pre-illness, so much that she would forget her dad’s passing. 

After a few weeks, Dot was so submerged in this that she let herself take a few minutes for herself each day. Her mind would still wander to her dad, and then she would imagine going home to him. Getting back and seeing his proud grin, hearing his raspy voice, already giving her another dumb dare. She could picture him right there, holding his arms out for one of his signature hugs. She would think of what new music came out, which concert he would take her to next…

The truth was so far from where she was, so inaccessible. The other girls on the island had no idea this was how she was feeling. She didn’t open up to them, knowing they each had their own problems to deal with. Well, at that point, Dot didn’t think it was worth telling them how much she wanted to get off the island to see her dad, because she knew none of them wanted to stay there. Except maybe Shelby, but that was a whole other story. 

When the girls were finally rescued and taken to the bunker, they were forced to be on their own, alone with their thoughts. Here, Dot had to talk to strangers, who apparently knew everything about her past and asked her how she was coping with her father’s death.

The first time it was mentioned, Dot just stared at Faber unbelievingly. She thought she was being pranked. The reality she had created for herself was so perfect and was now being shattered to tiny pieces. Her eyes started to water slowly until the tears were streaming down her face. She could no longer hide from the truth.

She started going over all her memories with her dad, to try and remember what it was like when he died. All she could feel was guilt. Guilt for making her dad feel like he was a burden to her, like he couldn’t finish his life naturally. But that was not how he felt. He wanted the pain to go away and he felt guilty too. Guilty that he wanted to abandon her for his own good, guilty for wanting to end his life, but mostly guilty for making her do it. 

Not being able to handle this, Dot went back to the happy memories. The one that first popped into her mind was a particular prank her dad played on her. He had taken every single oreo in the house, knowing they were his daughter’s favourite snacks and replaced the filling with ranch. Dot remembered the visible amusement on her dad’s face when she had spit the oreos out in disgust. This memory alone made the corners of her mouth twitch into a small smile.

Knowing this prank was a success, Dot’s father repeated it multiple times, but to his surprise, his daughter didn’t actually mind that much. Sure the oreos weren’t exactly great, but Dot wouldn’t throw them away, so she would eat all of them, while her dad would die of laughter. 

The two men questioning her had told Dot she could order anything she wanted, so, in order to bring the memory of her dad back, she needed that familiar taste she associated with his laughter. The surprise on the men’s faces when she asked for oreos and ranch was priceless, and Dot couldn’t help but smile at the familiar taste reminding her of Friday nights with her dad, before the wild concerts of the week-end. 

_ The end. _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the absolute mess I made out of this.   
> Feel free to attack me in the comments if you feel like it... I would too.  
> This is unedited and wasn't proofread so if you see any mistakes let me know.


End file.
